


Welcome to the Family

by LadySokolov



Series: Branded Universe One-shots [3]
Category: Far Cry 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, M/M, Meet the Family, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 14:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2776463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySokolov/pseuds/LadySokolov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mrs. Brody meets her sons' soulmates. </p><p>Spoilers for the main Branded story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note:**

> So, another one-shot, as promised. This one definitely shouldn't be read until after you've finished Branded. There are still a couple more one-shots to come, and the next one will be a little more light-hearted than this, so that's something.

Mrs. Brody had known that each of her three sons would meet their soulmate eventually, and one day she would meet Daisy, and Vaas, and Keith, and her sons would smile from ear to ear as they introduced the person they were destined to spend the rest of their lives with.

What she wasn’t expecting was for her youngest, Riley, to meet his soulmate first, or for the whole thing to be as heartbreaking and awkward as it turned out to be.

Jason had run inside the house, stopping only briefly to introduce his mother and Riley to the impatient looking young man that had walked into the house behind him.

Riley froze as soon as he heard the older man’s name. Jason’s friend Keith tried to act disinterested, but Mrs. Brody had noticed the slight flinch and the widening of Keith’s eyes when Jason had introduced Riley.

Riley took a deep breath, strode towards Keith and held out his hand, waiting for Keith to shake it.

“Nice to meet you” Riley announced. He managed to keep his voice steady, but Mrs. Brody could see that his hands was shaking, even from the other side of the room.

Keith’s arms had been crossed, and they stayed that way for a while as he glanced at Riley’s outstretched hand. After a handful of the tensest seconds Mrs. Brody had ever experienced, Keith reached out and took Riley’s hand in his own.

“Yeah,” Keith muttered. “Whatever.”

They only shook hands for a moment, although when the movement stopped Riley didn’t seem to want to let go of Keith’s hand, and began staring up at the older man as though Keith was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.

Mrs. Brody hoped that her son wasn’t getting too excited. There was every possibility that this wasn’t the right Keith, despite the older man’s reaction, and she didn’t want this evening to end in heartbreak for her youngest son.

Before anything else could happen, Jason came thundering down the stairs, jacket over one arm, and he and Keith were gone again within seconds.

Riley stood exactly where Keith had left him, taking deep breaths and staring at the door. Mrs. Brody waited and listened to the sound of the car as it drove away.

Riley stayed where he was for one… two… three seconds, and then ran upstairs as quickly as he could. After a short silence a delighted shout came from Riley’s room. Mrs. Brody’s youngest son eventually came back downstairs, having changed into something that he obviously thought Keith would find more appealing, and grinning like an idiot.

“He’s the right one, Mom,” Riley announced. “He’s the right Keith, and he’s so handsome and cool and he’ll be back later tonight, right? He’ll look at his brand and then he’ll know that I’m his soulmate and he’ll come back, right?”

Mrs. Brody wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t about to say it out loud and break poor Riley’s heart, but in her opinion, Keith seemed like an asshole. She stayed silent, but Riley didn’t seem to mind.

For the next few hours Riley couldn’t seem to settle. Mrs. Brody had never seen him so excited. Eventually the car returned, and Jason stumbled through the front door, a lot drunker and happier than he had been when he had left.

There was no sign of Keith though. When Riley pestered Jason about Keith, the older brother mumbled something incoherent and stumbled upstairs, and then Mrs. Brody watched as her youngest son’s heart began to break.

* * *

Less than a year later Grant brought a young woman home with him. She was skinny, blonde and absolutely beautiful.

Grant introduced her as Daisy, a wide grin on his face as he did. He knew his mother would remember what name he had on his wrist. They still wore their wrist bands, but Mrs. Brody knew from experience that it might not mean the brands beneath weren’t already white. Grant and Daisy were quite intelligent and respectable, and knew that the time for removing bands might actually be after they’d already made all the necessary announcements.

Grant kept glancing between Daisy and his mother as they talked, as though waiting for her approval. Like he needed it, she mentally scoffed. Fate had chosen Daisy for Grant. Who the hell was she to object?

Besides, Daisy was smart, well-spoken and absolutely gorgeous. She couldn’t have wished for a better soulmate for one of her sons.

“Welcome to the family,” she said, wrapping her arms around Daisy’s shoulders and pulling her close.

* * *

“Hey Mom… Dad…” Oliver said as his soulmate tried to move to the opposite end of the couch and away from Oliver’s lips as fast as humanly possible.

“So… er… welcome home?” Oliver murmured, stretching his arms wide as though to encompass the whole house.

His eyes weren’t focusing properly. His lips were flushed, as were Vincent’s. Unsurprising really considering that their lips had been locked tightly with one another’s up until the exact moment Oliver’s two parents had walked into the house. Luckily they had stopped smoking about an hour earlier, but the smell still lingered.

His mother and father still weren’t saying anything; just standing there and glancing between Oliver and Vincent with a mixture of shock and confusion.

“How was er… Paris?” Oliver asked.

“Marseille,” his mother corrected, staring straight at Vincent as she spoke.

“Right,” Oliver muttered. “Marseille. You’re home early, right? Weren’t supposed to be back until… um…”

“Tuesday,” his mother finished for him. “That’s tomorrow.”

Well, his mother had at least managed to regain her ability to speak. His father was still staring at the two of them as though his head was about to explode.

“So, Mom, Dad…” Oliver said, pointing at his parents with both hands and trying to be as optimistic and cheerful about everything as physically possible. “I have some fucking amazing news for you both. You are not gonna believe this.”

His mother screwed up her nose in distaste. Oliver wondered why for a moment, but then realized he’d cursed. His mother hated it when he cursed. Well, what the fuck did that matter? Oliver was really fucking excited, and this really was the best fucking news ever.

“This,” Oliver said, redirecting his pointed hands to the brunette that was trying his hardest to disappear into the other corner of the couch, “is Vincent.”

His mother blushed a few times and then her mouth morphed into a shocked but comprehending ‘ohhhh…’

If the look on his father’s face was any indication then the bomb inside of his brain had continued its relentless countdown. Oliver gave him maybe three more seconds.

“You know,” Oliver added, “my soulmate.”

“Hi,” Vincent said, waving nervously. “I er… It’s a pleasure to meet you both, Mister and Missus Carswell.”

“Well,” his mother said, taking a seat between the two young men. “He has manners at least, even if he is a little… er…”

“He’s a man,” Oliver’s father needlessly pointed out. “Our son’s soulmate is male!?”

“Not this again,” Oliver muttered. “You’ve known that since I was like… two weeks old or something Dad.”

Somehow this didn’t seem to comfort his father at all. The older man looked between Oliver and Vincent, and then looked as though he would have stormed off it if wasn’t for the glare his wife sent him.

“So,” Mrs. Carswell began, leaning a little closer to Vincent as she did. “Would I recognize your last name Vincent? I assume you’re from a respectable family? I would hope for nothing less considering you’re going to be standing at my son’s side.”

“Er…” Vincent began, nervously looking past the woman next to him. He caught the eyes of his soulmate, obviously hoping that Ollie could somehow help. Ollie just shrugged. His parents had always been fucking weird when it came to this sort of thing.

“He’s not rich,” Oliver told them. “I don’t care though Mom. He’s fun, and he’s really smart. He’s almost got an engineering degree and he fixed up the Porsche really fucking well.”

His mother frowned.

“You’re a mechanic?” she asked Vincent, saying the final word as though it tasted bad in her mouth.

“Wait a second,” his father interrupted. “Why did the Porsche need to be fixed?”

* * *

Mrs. Brody opened the front door to find Oliver Carswell and a dark-haired young man she didn’t recognize standing on her doorstep.

“Hey Mrs. B!” Ollie said, leaning forward and embracing her before she could object. He clapped her on the back as they parted, as though she was just another one of his friends, rather than his friends’ mother.

“So, I was wondering if I could come crash here for a day or two?” Ollie asked. “My parents are kinda being assholes at the moment.”

“You know you’re always welcome here Ollie,” she told him. “You know the rules about smoking around me though, and I should warn you that Jason’s in one of his moods.”

“Riley’s around though, right?”

“Somewhere,” Mrs. Brody replied with a shrug. “Who have you brought with you?”

Oliver clapped an arm around the other man’s shoulders, grinning from ear to ear as he did.

“Mrs. B,” Ollie began, “allow me to introduce Vincent Salas; best fucking mechanic in California, a total saint, and my soulmate. Vince, this is Mrs. Brody; Jason, Riley and Grant’s mom, but she’s kind of like my other Mom too.”

“I don’t remember giving birth to you,” Mrs. Brody said, crossing her arms and pretending to be very annoyed at Oliver and Vincent’s presence. It didn’t last long though.

“Heaven knows I fed you enough when you were growing up,” she finished.

She turned to Vincent, and fixed him with a warm smile. The boy looked like he really needed it.

“Welcome to the family Vincent,” she told him. “I already have plenty of sons, so what’s one more?”

* * *

There was darkness, and then a ‘thunk’, and then a tumble of blurred colour as the camera was switched on and turned around until the view finally focussed on the rather scruffy looking face of Jason Brody.

“Okay,” Jason told the camera. “I think it’s working.”

Jason smiled at the camera.

“Hey Mom,” he said. “I know that right now you’re probably wondering why I’m not there in person. I wanted to make this video to well… to tell you a couple of things I guess, and to help you understand why Riley is coming home with a lame video rather than his older brother. So… let’s get started, yeah?”

Jason turned the camera around, showing the beautiful beach in front of him. The sun was just beginning to set, bathing the gentle waves and palm trees in a soft golden-pink light.

“It’s beautiful, huh?” Jason said. “Things here are well… they’re pretty fucked up to be honest, but I’m going to see views like that for the rest of my life, so that’s pretty fucking awesome, right?”

The camera turned around so that it was facing Jason once again.

“Okay. Serious stuff now.”

He took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry about what happened to Grant,” Jason said. “I’m sure Riley’s told you what happened, but I’m just… I’m really sorry Mom. I should have… I dunno. I should have looked out for him more I guess. Paid attention to what he was doing or… something.”

Another deep breath.

“There’s good news though,” he told the camera, his face suddenly bursting into a bright smile.

The camera clicked and rumbled for a few seconds and then the view changed. It was still Jason, but the scene behind him had changed. There was still plenty of greenery, but now there was an old stone building as well.

“Mom,” Jason said. “I want you to meet someone.”

The camera turned around and the lens zoomed in until it was focusing on a Hispanic man with a mohawk. He was wearing a red singlet almost identical to the one Jason wore in the video. The man blinked a couple of times and then smiled as he realized the camera was focusing on him.

“Mom,” Jason continued, “this is Vaas. I finally found him.”

“What the fuck is this?” Vaas asked as he made his way closer to Jason the camera. “You makin’ a movie amante?”

“It’s for my Mom,” Jason told his soulmate. “Behave.”

“Hey Jason’s Mama,” Vaas said, waving at the camera. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna take real good fucking care of Jason, okay? Because this man… this man right here…”

Vaas had been pointing and gesturing to behind the camera, but as he continued the camera was rotated around, until Vaas had made it point at the both of them. His arm was around Jason’s shoulders, and they were both smiling, although Jason looked as though he was getting closer to dying from embarrassment with every word Vaas said.

“This man right here,” Vaas continued, “is the most beautiful, stupid, perfect fucking human being I’ve ever met.”

Jason reached up, muttering a quick ‘bye Mom,’ before switching off the camera. There was the sound of him muttering something in a low, slightly irritated voice, before the camera switched off.

* * *

A moment of black, and then the camera switched on again, although this time it just showed Vaas’s face.

He blinked a couple of times, looked at the camera through red, tear-stained eyes, and then looked down again.

“I can’t,” Vaas muttered, voice cracking. “I can’t fucking do this…”

A hand reached up to the camera.

“Fuck,” Vaas muttered, and then the view went black again.

* * *

Another scene. Another Vaas. This time his eyes were slightly less red.

He glanced around for a few seconds, before facing the camera. He looked unsure, as though he didn’t know what he was supposed to say, or why he had decided to turn the camera on in the first place.

“Fuck this,” he muttered, shaking his head at the camera. “This is the biggest load of bullshit. Not this video. Sorry Jason’s Mama. Sorry. Not this… Not this fucking video.”

Vaas paused, shook his head and then looked back into the camera.

“The fact that I have to make this video at all is what is bullshit,” he explained. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Jason is… Jason is… Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck… Jason’s gone. That beautiful fucking idiot is gone and I… I wasn’t… I couldn’t…”

Vaas paused, obviously upset and needing to take a moment to calm himself before he continued.

“I’m sorry,” Vaas continued. “I said I was gonna take care of him. I obviously fucked that up, huh? His little brother is gonna blame himself, but don’t let him, okay? It’s not his fucking fault. You made Jason… you made him too fucking good, you know?

“Look, I don’t… I don’t fucking remember my own Mama, okay? But you’re supposed to really love your Mama, right? And Jason loved you, otherwise he wouldn’t have wanted to make this fucking video in the first place. And you probably loved him back and all that bullshit that I’m never going to fucking understand because my family was nothing but crazy, fucked-up nothing.

“The point is… I don’t fucking know what the point is. I just want you to know that I loved Jason, still fucking love him, and I’m gonna miss him, and I’m sorry.”

* * *

Mrs. Brody opened the door to find Riley and Keith standing there, hand in hand. They both had several small injuries that had not been there before they had left, they were missing most of their luggage, and there was no sign of Grant or Jason.

“What the hell happened to the two of you!?” she exploded. “You were gone for months! Where are your brothers?”

“Hi Mom,” Riley said very quietly. Keith gave the younger man’s hand a gentle, encouraging squeeze. “I… um… I… Jason and Grant…”

“Sorry Mrs. Brody,” Keith supplied. “Grant and Jason are gone.”

“Gone?” she asked. That couldn’t mean… It couldn’t mean what she thought it meant, could it? After so long without hearing from any of her sons she had prepared herself for this eventuality, but it still didn’t seem real.

“I’m sorry,” Riley said.

Mrs. Brody looked between the two young men.

“Jason, he… he gave me this video to give to you,” Riley continued as he leaned down and began rummaging through his bag, eventually emerging with a small tape, which he placed in his mother’s hands.

“Actually, Vaas, er… his soulmate did, but Jason made it. I don’t… I don’t know what’s on it.”

“Perhaps the two of you should come inside,” she suggested. “This will be easier to talk about when we’re sitting down, right?”

Riley and Keith looked at each other and then nodded.

“You… er… You know Keith, right?” Riley began, his hand squeezing Keith’s even more tightly as he did. “So… turns out he’s my soulmate.”

She knew, although she wondered if Riley remembered she had been there for that first awkward meeting. Mrs. Brody glanced down at Riley and Keith’s brands, and then back up to Keith. She looked her son’s soulmate straight in the eye, and noticed that he flinched a little as she did. What was that? Fear? Shame? She knew how much pain this man had put her youngest child through and suspected he had every right to feel both in her presence.

Whatever had happened with Keith, it didn’t seem to bother Riley. Her youngest was still clutching Keith’s hand as though afraid to let go, and surely Riley’s acceptance had to be enough for her.

She smiled gently at Keith, took a single step towards him, and wrapped one of her arms around each of the young men. Riley leaned into the embrace, burying his face in her shoulder. Keith stayed completely still, at least until she spoke.

“Welcome to the family,” she told him, and was glad when she felt Keith relax. “Now, come on inside, both of you. It sounds like a lot has happened since I last saw you.”


End file.
